Chaff-separator in thrashers



(No Model.)

G. E. MINGES.

GHAFF SEPARATOR IN THE-A SHE'RS.

' Patented Mar. 17,1891.

J32 ueafor 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE MINGES, OF ATLANTA, CALIFORNIA.

CHAFF -SEPARATOR lN TH RASH ERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,357, dated March 17, 1891.

Applioationfiled July '7, 1890. Serial No 358,020. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. MINGES, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of San Joaquin and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chaff-Separators in Thrashers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in traveling thrashers; and it has for its object, among other things, to provide a construction whereby the chaff and straw may be separated and secured, as will be fully understood from the following description and claims, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which the figure is a side elevation of a thrasher, the side wall thereof being broken away to illustrate my improvements.

Referring by letters and figures to the said drawing,A indicates the trunk of a thrashing-machine, which'lnay be of the ordinary or any approved construction, and is suitably mounted on a frame and wheels.

B indicates the rear covered end of the trunk, which is constructed in the ordinary form.

0 indicates an inclined endless carrier-belt, which extends the full width of the trunk and travels around an upper roller 0, which is suitably journaled in the trunk, and a lower roller or drum, (not illustrated,) which is situated adjacent to the thrashing mechanism. This carrier 0, which maybe of any ordinary or approved construction, is designed to receive the thrashed grain, chaff, and straw from the thrashing mechanism.

D indicates a slightly inclined. carrier, which is preferably of the ordinary open-rake construction and passes around drum-rollers 1 and 2, which are suitably journaled in the side walls of the trunk, and this carrier-belt D, which is of a width similar to the width of the trunk, may be of any ordinary or approved construction.

The forward roller 1 of the carrier D is arranged at approximately the distance illustrated from the drum-roller O of the carrierbelt 0, whereby an intervening space is affordedbetween the two carriers to allow the grain to fall from the chaff and straw, as will be presently described.

E indicates a shoe of the ordinary construction, which is provided with an inclinedsieve, as illustrated in dotted lines, whereby the grain received from the carriers is conducted into a suitable channel or spent and conducted from the trunk.

Beneath the endless carrier D, and extending the full length and width thereof, I provide a correspondingly lnelined board D, which serves to conduct any grain that might be discharged upon the carrier with the chaff and straw back, and discharges the same upon the shoe E, beforedescribed.

At a suitable point adjacent to the rear roller of the carrier-belt D I arrange in the trunk an approximately vertical transverse division or partition wall H, which is of the proportional height illustrated and affords a partition for a receptacle into which the straw which has been separated from the grain and chaff is deposited. Attached by hinges or in any other flexible manner to the bottom edges of this partition 11 is a swinging partition 11, which extends to the bottom of the trunk and is designed for a purpose presently to be described. The bottom of this straw-receptacle is formed by a platform a, which is of a width equal to that of the trunk and of a length to reach beneath the partition H of the receptacle, and this platform a is at-.

tached to the trunkframe by a transverse rod or lateral journals which take into bearings formed on the longitudinal side beams,

of the trunk at the rear end thereof, and extending from the rear end of the platform a is a bar to the end of which is attached a counterbalance-weight K, and this ,counterbalance-weight K serves to close the, plat form against the bottom of the receptacle when the same has been opened by a pressure of the straw, as will be presently understood.v

F indicates my improved chaff-box, the bottom of which forms a portion of the bottom of the trunk, as illustrated. This chaff-box F is provided with a front vertical transverse wall, but its rear end is left open to allow the box to discharge its contents, as will be presently explained. Suitably attached to the bottom of the box F, at a point adjacent to the middle thereof, is a transverse rod F, which is journaled at its ends in suitable bearings F on the under side of the longitudinal beams of the frame.

G indicates a Springbacked latch of any approved construction, which is pivotally secured to the side beam of the frame in position to normally engage the rear end of the box F and hold the same in a closed position, and attached to this latch G is a string or lever which is carried to a point convenientto the operator, who, if desired, may release the chaff-box fromthe catch without leaving his position on the feeding-platform of the thrasher.

L indicates a transversely-situated fan, which may be of any ordinary construction and may be driven in any preferable manner, and the shaft of this fan is suitably jonrnaled in the side walls of the trunk slightly forward of the shoe E, whereby any chaff that might fall with the grain upon the shoe E is blown into the chaff-box F.

In operation the grain, straw, and chaff are deposited upon the carrier 0 from the thrashing mechanism, and are carried by said carrier to the upper end thereof, where the grain and chaff fall from the straw, and the former falls upon the shoe E while the latter is doposited in a chaff-box F, before described. The straw and the remaining chaff are carried by the carrier D to its rear end, where the straw is again subjected to the blast from the fan to separate it from the chaff, and is deposited in the receptacle formed by the partitions II and II and the end wall of the trunk. From the situation of the blast-fan it will be seen that any chaff that might fall with the grain upon the shoe is readily blown into the chaff-box.

From the construction described it will be seen that when the chaff-box F is full the spring-pressed latch may be moved from engagement with the rear end thereof, when the box, by reason of the greater amount of chaff being in the rear portion thereof, will tip and discharge the said chaff, when the box will resume its former position and be engaged by the spring-catch, as its front end is slightly heavier than its rear discharging enc.

\Vhen the box E is tipped, its forward edges will press upon the swinging partition H and cause the same to give rearwardly against the straw in the receptacle, when the platform a will give downwardly and discharge the straw, and by reason of its counter-bah ance-weight the said platform a will be returned to its normal position as soon as the straw has been discharged.

In the practice of my invention I do not desire to limit myself to the precise construction of parts, nor to any details, as it is obvious that such changes or modifications may be made asfairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my. invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination, with the trunk A, of a traveling thrasher containing the usual shoe, a fan, grain and straw carriers, of the herein described chaff separator apparatus, consisting of the chaff-box F, secured to the bottom of the trunk A at the rear of the shoe by the spring-latch G and pivotal attachment I the floor D beneath the straw-carrier, the covered end B of the trunk A, the division-board H, the door H,'hinged to the board II, the weighted straw-platform CL, and the trip-cord G, all operating substantially as described.

2. The combination, substantially as described, of the trunk A, having the covered end B, suitably mounted and provided with the usual shoe,afan, grain and straw carriers, the chaff-box F at the rear of the shoe, pivotally secured at the bottom of the thrashertrunk, the spring-latch G and the trip-cord G, the floor D, the division-board II, and the door II in the rear of the box F, hinged to the lower edge of the board II.

3. In a thrashing-machine, the combination, with an endless straw-carrier, of a blast-fan arranged at a suitable point beneath said carrier, the grain-receiving shoe provided with an inclined sieve, and a chaff-box pivotally mounted upon the frame and adapted to be normally held in a closed position, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a thrashing-machine,substantially as described,the combination, with endless carriers, as O and D, and the blast-fan arranged at a suitable point within the trunk, of the grain-receiving shoe, the pivotally-mounted chaff-receiving box adapted to be normally held in a closed position, the transverse fixed wall and the swinging board forming with the end wall of the trunk a straw-receptacle, and the platform or bottom Ct of the strawreceptacle, pivotally connected to the rear end of the trunk, and the counterbalance-weight attached to the rear end of said platform and adapted to keep the same normallyin a closed position, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. MINGES. "Witnesses:

JOSHUA B. WEBSTER,

JAMES T. SUMMERVILLE. 

